do i need an amp for this setup?

[Astoniam]

hey fellas,
 
just got some HD 558's with a Xonar D1 on the way. will i benefit from an amp ? if so any recommendations?
 
cheers

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hey fellas,
Just got some HD 558's with a Xonar D1 on the way. will I benefit from an amp ? if so any recommendations?

The Xonar D1 is barely decent at driving headphones (high impedance). but does come with a good DAC chip (CS4398) and Dolby Headphone surround sound.
The Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier ($65) is a good value and comes with a low headphone output impedance.
But it is battery powered, so it's good to buy it with a spare battery (BL-5B) or 2 and a simple AC battery recharger.
Did you have a budget?

 

[Astoniam]

right now im using on board audio (p8z68 v pro gen3). will the D1 drive them any better since they both dont have on board amps ?
i dont really need a portable, this will be for my desktop, do you know of anything else? would the E9 be too much?
 
thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Right now I'm using on board audio (p8z68 v pro gen3). will the D1 drive them any better since they both don't have on board amps ?
I don't really need a portable, this will be for my desktop, do you know of anything else? would the E9 be too much?
 

The Xonar D1 should come with a better DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) then whatever DAC is built into your motherboard, so audio with D1 should sound better.
I do not recommend the Fiio E11 because it's portable, I recommend it because it's a good amplifier with a very low impedance, like .5-Ohms and only costs $65.
The Fiio E9 is a really good value and comes with a 10-Ohm impedance, which not really that bad for 50-Ohm headphones like the HD558.
Usually you want the impedance (resistance, measured in Ohms) of the headphone to be at least 8 times (or more) the impedance of the amplifier/headphone jack.
My Asus Xonar Essence STX comes with a 10-Ohm impedance, my HD558s sound fine with it.

 

[Astoniam]

OK thanks for that info, I'm probably thinking really faulty here but how i see things is bigger is better and the E11 is small, i don't want anything too big, lets say no more than the E9 or an O2 size and my budget is preferably under 100 dollars.
 
how do the battery's work in the e11 do you need to re charge them when not using portably, or can it be plugged in via usb and be powered permanently ?
 
cheers

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

OK thanks for that info, I'm probably thinking really faulty here but how i see things is bigger is better and the E11 is small, i don't want anything too big, lets say no more than the E9 or an O2 size and my budget is preferably under 100 dollars.
How do the battery's work in the E11 do you need to re charge them when not using portably, or can it be plugged in via usb and be powered permanently ?

The Fiio E11 recharges while plugged into a USB port, but can not be used while being recharged.
So you have to unplug it from the USB before using it.
Some places sell the E11 with an extra battery (BL-5B) and a simple AC battery recharger.
 
Also on eBay they sell a simple recharger with a couple of batteries for around $15.
They rate the batteries as holding over twice the charge of the name brand batteries, which is not true.
But as the price is so low, there are still worth it.
 
Personally i would spend a few extra dollars to get the O2 over the Fiio E9 (nothing wrong with the E9).
Headphones in the 80-Ohm to 600-Ohm would be fine on either amp.
But the O2 comes with a very low impedance, like .5-Ohm, where as the E9 is 10-Ohm.
So really low Ohm headphones (16 to 50-Ohm) should do better on the O2
and you can use the O2 as a portable, if needed.
 
Sometimes there are some good deals on used O2s in the Head-fi thread "Amplifiers for Sale".
and sometimes there are even better deals on used E9s